What if?: Mysteries of Symphonia
by Holyknightsteve
Summary: Have you ever wondered what if... during any part of ToS? What if some events were altered, thus creating a completely different outcome? This is a collection of one shot stories involving alterations of the game both minor and major.
1. Genis joined Mithos?

Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own Tales of Symphonia or any characters, places, items, or ideas linked to said game. Any characters, places, items, or ideas not found in said game are of my own creation and I do claim ownership to them.

**Big Bold-Lettered Warning: Caution! Spoilers within! Do not read any of these stories if you have not completed Tales of Symphonia unless you want to ruin the story. You've been warned.**

A/N: Looks like quite a few people wanted to see this, what I think is very original, "What if...?" series, so here we go. I got the idea for this when I as flipping through some very old comic books and I found an issue of "What If?" by Marvel Comics. Basically, each-issue was like a one-shot outside of any storyline, meaning it could stand-alone without having to read any prior material. In "What If?", Marvel took their super heroes and villains and put them in unlikely situations that would only come about if you asked yourself something like, "What if super hero X became super villain X? Or "What if super hero X was killed before a certain important event took place?". Stuff like that. This serves as the basis of my idea for "Mysteries of Symphonia". While most of the stories told in MoS will have a dark feel to them, this doesn't mean by any stretch of the imagination that we can't have any categories such as romance, humor, or w/e else. As long as it fits the "What if...?" criteria, then it's okay. What is said criteria, you ask? Ahem...

1. The situation must be something that did not happen in the game **_but_** it can still be connected to the storyline. What do I mean by this? Here's an example: In the game, Colette regains her soul shortly after Lloyd places his specially made crest on her. A "What if...?" for this event that did happen could be something like, "What if Lloyd's crest didn't work and Colette never regained her soul?"

2. Even "What if...?" stories have boundaries. They can not be _too_ outlandish or silly. That's not to say that they cannot be so. Just not too much. What do I mean? Example: Zelos and Sheena having each other's personalities would be about as outlandish as we get. Having the entire party get abducted by aliens or something like that is... no. The Zelos/Sheena example is simply for humor value, thus giving it some breathing room concerning this rule.

3. There will be **_absolutely nothing_** barbaric, brutal, sick, or overly perverted in these stories. While the stories may be a bit "out there", we will maintain a sense of decency while writing them. Example: From the above example, Sheena having Zelos' personality is fine in the ways of perversion. Normal killings and levels of violence are fine. Descriptive sex scenes, rape, and excessive violence will not have a home here. **_No exceptions!_**

Why do I bother telling you this? Well, one reason is to let everyone who isn't familiar with my other works get an idea of where I'm coming from. Second is that I plan on making MoS a series of stories that never ends. That's where y'all come in. I'm asking everyone out there that's reading this to drop me a line sometime via reviews, email, or instant message and let me know what your ideas for future "What if...?" stories are. All ideas that I accept will be posted under the MoS listing on my profile page and the name of the person who suggested will be placed next to each respective idea. Every time you review, even if you don't have any ideas to suggest, I would like everyone to take a look at my profile page and vote on which story you'd like to see in the next update. Note: You **_may not_** vote for your own ideas. In the event of ties, I will choose which to write.

Okay, I think all of that will do for an introduction for what I hope is a never-ending series. If there's any questions about the criteria, you can always contact me. Without further ado, let's begin our first Mystery of Symphonia.

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"What if... Genis had joined Mithos?

Story idea by: Mooncannon

"So Genis," started the angelic overlord in an eerily friendly voice, "what do you say? Will you join me?"

Cold beads of sweat ran down the young scholar's face as he considered his options. On one hand, he had his friends and his sister; on the other, was Mithos Yggdrasill, the leader of the Desians and Cruxis… and friend of Genis. The former hoped to change the world for the better by somehow bringing the worlds back together and trying to stop racism without doing anything drastic to the masses, an overall foolish idea in the eyes of Genis. The latter's vision was far more realistic to him: revive the ancient hero Martel, sister of Mithos, and bring about an age of angelic but lifeless beings, thus making everyone in the two worlds the same and ending racism once and for all. For any good-souled person, the choice seemed fairly obvious: side with your friends, no matter how foolish the plan seemed. Even though Genis was not a bad person, he could not help but wonder if his friends' vision of the world was so far out of this world that it would be truly idiotic to not side with Mithos.

"I… I don't know!" said Genis as he grabbed his. "I just don't know!"

Lloyd threw his arms outward, unable to believe what he was hearing. Was his best friend really considering joining Mithos? "C'mon Genis, what are you doing? We're your friends, right? What bout your sister? How would Raine feel if you decided to leave us and join him? Look at what he did to Altessa and the others!" Lloyd made a sweeping motion with his arm, displaying to Genis the unconscious bodies of Altessa, Tabatha, Kratos, and Yuan. "Altessa and Tabatha took care of Mithos while we were gone and Kratos and Yuan used to be Mithos' friends! Do you think Mithos will treat you any better?"

"Hmph," grunted Mithos. "You have nothing to fear Genis. They simply did not share my vision of the world. You do though. I can feel it burning within you: your hatred of those who would sooner slaughter us and our kinsmen than help us succeed. Do you really think that you can simply ask those that hate us to be nicer to us? Do you? What utter nonsense."

Raine stepped forward from her group of friends, a hurt look on her face. "Genis, please, don't listen to him. What kind of a world is filled with life-less beings? It's madness Genis! We'll find a way to co-exist with those that hate us. In time, I'm sure they will come to accept us."

Genis closed his eyes and lowered his head. "But what if they don't sis? What will you do then?"

"I-I…" Raine stuttered.

Genis shook his head and turned to Mithos. "I'm sorry everyone, but I think Mithos is right. We can't just ask the humans and elves nicely to treat us fairly. The only way to end discrimination is to make everyone the same."

Lloyd couldn't believe what he was hearing. He slipped past Genis' stunned sister and got right up into his best friend's face. "What about Marble? What about all of the terrible things Cruxis and the Desians did?"

"Every war has its casualties," replied Mithos. He turned to Genis, an eerily warm smile crossing his lips as he did so. "Shall we go Genis?"

Genis nodded and moved closer to his new friend. Unwilling to simply just let her brother go, she ran to him and grabbed his arm. "Genis, please don't go!"

"Get away from me!" he yelled. He lifted his other arm and shot an arc of low-voltage lightning at her, causing her to break away from him and fall to her knees. "Leave me alone sis! I don't want to hurt you, so please don't interfere. The same goes for the rest of you."

Mithos smirked evilly. "You had your chance Raine. Pity you didn't take it." With that, Genis, Mithos, and the unconscious body of Kratos disappeared in a dazzling flash of light, leaving the remaining heroes staring where the half-elves had once been and Raine crying, hands cupper over her face.

From the doorway of Altessa's house, the stone-faced Zelos stared in silence at the scene.

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_With Altessa hurt, the remaining heroes flew to Flanoir in hopes of getting help for the injured dwarf. With the doctor found, the entire group save for Lloyd, Zelos, and a too-depressed-to-do-anything Raine left with the doctor to treat Altessa. That night, in one of the rooms of the hotel in Flanoir…_

The red-haired chosen of Tethe'alla paced about his room, unsure of what to do. The events of earlier that day had laid heavily on his mind all day and he could not stopping thinking about it, no matter how hard he tried. When the party traveled to the Tower of Salvation tomorrow, he had planned to turn against his friends in favor of the side that he felt would win in the end, the angels of Cruxis, regardless of whether or not it was morally right. However, after witnessing the unexpected betrayal of Genis, long-time friend of Lloyd and Colette, potential suitor of Presea, and, most importantly, brother of Raine, Zelos had begun to question what he was going to do tomorrow. Genis' betrayal had greatly crushed the spirits of his companions. While most people would have given up, Lloyd and company were still prepared to keep trudging forward, even if they had to fight Genis in the process. The bravery and determination of his companions was astounding, but Zelos wondered if he also betrayed the party, even if he wasn't as well-liked as Genis, if it would fold under the pressure and finally give up all hope.

"Ugh, this is nuts," said Zelos as he finally decide to take a seat on his bed. "Lloyd and the others are sure to lose. It's really no wonder that Genis left his friends and even his sister behind. But…" He sighed. "They're just trying to do the right thing. The odds are stacked against them, yet they are still willing to risk their lives for the sake of a better world. Can I really turn on people like that? Even if I decide to help them no further, I can't just turn on them when they least expect it like Genis did. It would crush them. I'm sure Lloyd doesn't like me very much, but I guess it's the whole principle of the thing. Gah, what should I do!"

Zelos looked over at his pack and decided to pull it over. He rummaged through it for a bit a bit and pulled out a picture that a photographer at the Meltokian Ball took of the group. Everyone was in their dinner-party attire and looking very good. Presea was standing next to a red-faced Genis, upon whose shoulder was Raine's hand. In the dead middle of the back row were Lloyd and Zelos, one arm rapped around the other's shoulders, making the two look like they had been friends for life. Naturally, everyone was smiling. To those outside of the party, they truly looked like an inseparable group of friends. Over the past few months of adventuring, they had grown to be almost like family.

Zelos took a deep breath and put the picture back in his pack. "I know what I have to do now: I have to tell Lloyd and Raine. I just have to." He stood up and put on a much warmer set of clothes. Once finished, he made his way out the door and down the hall to Raine's room. From within, he could hear crying and a voice that sounded like Lloyd's.

"She must've broken down," said Zelos to himself. "Poor woman." He didn't want to disturb the two, but he knew that he had to tell them about what he was going to do. With a heavy sigh, he knocked on the door twice.

Raine sniffled as Lloyd said, "Who is it?"

"It's me bud," said Zelos. "Can I come in?"

Whispers that Zelos couldn't make out could be heard from within. A moment later, Lloyd said, "Okay, come on in Zelos."

Zelos opened the door and saw both Raine and Lloyd sitting on the bed. Raine was still trying to wipe the tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry to disturb you guys, but I wanted to talk to you. It's important. Can we step outside?"

Lloyd looked at his long-time teacher. "Professor?"

Raine sniffled and nodded her head. "O-okay. Just give us a moment to get properly dressed."

Zelos nodded and made his way for the door. "Gotcha. I'll meet you at the balcony in front of the church."

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"So what's up Zelos?" asked Lloyd as he and his long-time teacher approached Zelos on the balcony outside of the church.

Zelos turned to his friends, an empty-looking smile on his face as he did so. "Hey guys, thanks for coming out here. I know it's cold out here, so I'll try to be brief."

Raine shook her head. "Don't worry about it Zelos. Take all the time you need."

"She's right Zelos," said Lloyd. "That's what friends are for, right?"

"That's what friends are for, huh?" said Zelos to himself. He turned back to the wonderful scene overlooking over the snowbound city of Flanoir. He took a deep breath of the refreshingly crisp arctic air and began to speak once again. "Guys, I haven't been completely honest with you." He lowered his head and sighed. "In fact, I've only been slightly honest with you."

"What do you mean?" asked Lloyd.

"I've… I've been selling information to the Renegades… information about us and our journey."

Nobody said anything for a moment as the thought sank into their minds. The silence was almost deafening. One could almost hear the sound of the snow falling upon the ground.

"You've been selling information to the Renegades?" asked Raine.

Lloyd shook his head. "But… we're more or less working with the Renegades now so it's not so bad, right? I wish you would've told us sooner though."

Zelos turned back to his friends as a frown crossed his lips. "That's not all guys."

"There's more?" asked Raine.

Zelos took another breath. "I've also been selling information to Cruxis."

"WHAT!" yelled Lloyd. "You've betrayed us too!"

Raine grabbed her head and took a few steps backward. "No, this can't be! First Kratos, then Genis, now you! How many more people are going to betray us!"

Zelos took a step backward and leaned against the railing of the balcony. "When we got to the Tower of Salvation tomorrow, I was supposed to kidnap Colette and then fight all of you to the death. Everything needed for "reviving" Martel is ready to go except for the host-body: Colette."

"You bastard!" yelled Lloyd as he drew one of his blades. "You'll never lay a finger on Colette so long as I'm alive!"

Raine put a hand on Lloyd's shoulder. "Wait Lloyd. It doesn't sound like he's done yet. Let's at least hear him out and then we can decide what to do with him."

"B-but…" stuttered Lloyd. He looked back and forth between Raine and Zelos, sighed, and sheathed his blade. "Fine. Go ahead."

Zelos nodded. "Thank you. I know I don't deserve your time, considering what I've been doing and what I was going to do, but all I ask is that you hear me out."

"Very well Zelos," said Raine. "Now then, why are you telling us this?"

Zelos lowered his head and turned his back to his friends. "I'm not as bad of a person as you might think I am. After I saw what Genis', forgive me Raine, betrayal did to all of you spiritually, I knew that I couldn't go through with betraying you as well."

"Zelos…" said Raine.

Zelos laid his hands back on the railing as he continued. "Since the beginning of our journey, I've always felt that Cruxis, not you guys or the Renegades, would be victorious in the end. In the beginning, I didn't care who won, as long as I was with them. By selling information to Cruxis and the Renegades and by traveling with all of you, I felt that I had all of my bases covered. As time passed, I… well, guess I kinda got attached to you guys. Until today, I was at the point where I was hoping you guys would win but was still unable to pull myself away from Cruxis. Now, that's all changed."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Lloyd.

Zelos turned back to his friends, his expression unchanged. "After seeing how strong all of you are even after losing someone as close to you as Genis, I finally realized that I do want to fully support you guys, whether we win or not. I've never said or done anything like that in my life. Before he abandoned us, my old man told me to never go with the underdog. For the first time in my life, I want to go against that advice."

"Zelos…" started Raine, "…you mean you want to-"

"If you'll have me," said Zelos, interrupting her, "then I would like to see this through to the end with you guys. If you don't want me around anymore, I understand. I'll stay behind in Flanoir or wherever you want me to." For the first time during the conversation, Zelos' lips curled into a sincere smile. "So, how about it guys? Mind if the "Stupid Chosen" tags along for a bit longer?"

Lloyd looked at Raine, unsure of what to do. "Professor?"

Raine nodded. "Alright then Zelos. We believe you. If you still wish to travel with us, then you may do so."

Lloyd nodded as well. "Fine with me." He walked forward and extended his hand. "Thanks for being honest with us Zelos. What you did before was very wrong, but I'm glad you confessed to us. You aren't such a bad guy after-all."

Zelos took Lloyd's hand and shook it firmly. "Thanks guys." He shivered and chuckled. "Heh, it's getting' a little cold out here. Let's head back in, neh?"

They all nodded and made their way back to the inn, ready to get a good night's rest before they set out the next day.

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_The next morning, the party reformed and made their way to the Tower of Salvation, prepared to put an end to Mithos' plan for an Age of Lifeless Beings. By mid-morning, the party was within the main hall of the Tower Salvation…_

"I don't trust this," said Sheena. "I was expecting a trap or something like that."

Regal nodded. "Indeed. Surely they would not leave their front door unattended. Something's not right here."

Colette looked to either side of her. "Um, where's Zelos? Wasn't he here just a second ago?"

Everyone began to look around except for Raine and Lloyd who simply lowered their heads.

"Zelos," whispered Lloyd. "Did you really betray us after-all?"

"Something… is coming through the teleporter," said Presea as she pointed.

When the light from the teleporter subsided, everyone gasped when they saw Genis of all people crawling on his knees towards the party. "H-help me," he said weakly. "Please help me."

"Genis!" yelled Colette as she ran to her long-time friend. She kneeled next to him and tried to help him up. "Are you all right?"

Genis smirked and immediately sprang to his feet and placed the palm of his hand onto the small of Colette's back. "Never been better!"

"Genis!" yelled Lloyd as he drew his blades and rushed toward Genis.

Genis' free hand began to glow as he said, "Don't move Lloyd unless you prefer toasted Colette! You wouldn't want anything to happen to your girlfriend, would you?"

Lloyd gritted his teeth as he halted dead in his tracks. "Damnit Genis! Let her go! She's your friend!"

"Friend? Hmph," grunted Genis. "If she was any kind of friend, she would've understood my pain and joined me and Mithos. She still clings to your foolish idea of ending discrimination with Mithos' vision! You all would rather try to help people you don't know rather than me, your once long-time friend?"

"Genis, we still believe in you," said Colette, the fear in her voice apparent.

Genis gritted his teeth and hit Colette in the small of her back with his palm again. "Bah! Be quiet!"

From behind Genis emerged Zelos, a large grin on his face. "Hey guys. Sorry about this, but you know how things are, eh?"

Raine brought her hands to her mouth. "Zelos! It can't be!"

Drawing his blades once again, Lloyd yelled, "You bastard! It was still a trick after-all!"

Everyone else could say nothing as they stood in shook, mouths hanging wide open. Zelos chuckled as a pair of golden spectral wings sprouted from his back. "Of course it was. I'm not stupid."

"Zelos… is an angel too?" asked Presea.

Genis turned to the red-haired angel and smirked. "Heh, good timing Zelos. Just look at the stupid looks on their faces!"

Zelos shook his head and laughed. "Priceless. Now then, I'm sure you don't need me, but I'm here to help you anyway. I'll take Colette off your hands and take her to Mithos. Less for you to worry about, neh?"

Genis cocked an eyebrow and nodded. "Huh, never thought I'd actually hear a compliment from you. Okay then, take her. Last thing I need is extra baggage." With that, he shoved Colette over to Zelos who had his Ether Blade ready.

Once Zelos got a hold of Colette, he smiled warmly at the fear-stricken blonde-haired Chosen. He closed her eyes and gave her a slight shove in Lloyd's direction. "Run along Colette."

Everyone, including Genis, gasped at the same time. "W-what are you doing Zelos!" asked Genis angrily.

"Simple," replied Zelos. "I've chosen a side: the right side. These people have treated me with respect even when I deserved none. Besides, I'm not particularly keen on the idea of living in a world where I'm surrounded by soul-less goons."

"Zelos!" cried Colette happily. "Y-you're not with Mithos after-all?"

He shook his head. "It's like I told Lloyd and Raine last night: I'm with you guys all the way." He looked over at the healer and warrior and grinned. "Heh, you should have more faith in me. Just because I'm with you guys full-time now doesn't mean that I'm not still a trickster."

"Lloyd, Raine, you knew of this?" asked Regal, confused.

Lloyd said nothing and scratched his head. Raine simply replied, "We'll talk later. Let's focus on the task at hand."

Genis stomped his foot and growled. "Traitor!"

Zelos faced Genis and wagged a finger at him. "Speak for yourself."

"That's it!" yelled Genis as he unleashed a bolt of lightning at Colette.

"Ah!" cried Colette as the lightning arced towards her.

"Colette! Move it!" yelled Zelos as he shoved Colette out of the way, taking the hit for himself. "Gah!" He hit the ground, the acrid smell of slightly burnt flesh fresh in the air.

"Zelos!" yelled Lloyd as he helped Colette to her feet.

Everyone began to run towards Genis at once, ready to take him out. Desperate, Genis pointed a glowing hand at Zelos' fallen body. "Come no further, unless you want me to finish what I started!"

"Genis, stop!" cried Raine as she tried to reach out for her brother.

Genis huffed. "Not a chance, sis! Now then, if you want "Stupid" here to keep breathing, you'll hand over Colette! No tricks, or you'll regret it!"

Lloyd pointed one of his blades at Genis. "No way Genis! We'll never-"

"I'll go," said Colette solemnly. "Zelos just tried to save me. Now that I have the chance to save him, I have to take it."

"That won't be necessary," said a voice from behind Genis.

Genis whirled around to see who it was but he was too late. The scabbard of a sword smacked him across the face, sending him tumbling down the stairs leading up to the teleporter. "Ah! What the-… you!"

At the top of the stairs stood Kratos. His left hand was already extended towards Zelos, a white light emanating from it as it did so. A moment later, Zelos got back up, not looking the least bit hurt.

"Da-… Kratos!" yelled Lloyd. "Does this mean you're-"

Kratos nodded. "Indeed. I was touched by your conversation last night."

Zelos looked over at Kratos. "You mean you were listening?"

Kratos nodded again. "Embarrassed?"

Zelos shook his head. "Bah."

Genis finally stood back up and growled. "Have both of you lost your minds! You threw your loyalty behind Mithos last night!"

Zelos could tell that either Raine or Lloyd were going to ask about that so he took the initiative by saying, "After you two went to bed last night, I decided to pay Mithos, Kratos, and Genis one last visit. Figured it'd be my last chance to gain any useful information. Looks like it worked out well, eh Genis?"

Kratos began to walk down the stairs towards Genis. "It's over Genis. You may be a powerful magician, but there are still eight of us. You can't win."

"Ha… hahaha…" laughed Genis. "You think you know so much. This is far from over!" He pulled back a piece of cloth under his collar revealing what looked like a Cruxis Crystal. When he touched it, his body began to glow and spectral feathers began to fall all around him. "My friend has entrusted me with the power of the angels. I won't let him down!" A flash of light followed his last word and, when the light subsided, flapping behind Genis' back were a pair of blue-grey spectral wings. "What do you think of that!"

Not wanting to believe what she was seeing, she stumbled backwards and nearly fell over. "Oh no. Genis… you really have left us, haven't you?"

He smirked. "Yup, and that's not all!" He threw his hands toward the sky and yelled, "Gatekeeper! Send thy flights of angels to my aid!"

Just as Genis had requested, nearly two dozen angels descended from the top of the tower led by a rather large and very powerful looking angel, quite possibly the Gatekeeper Genis referred to. The large angel floated in front of Genis and asked, "What would you have us do, Lord Genis?"

"Lord… Genis?" asked Presea.

Genis smiled, brushed his hair aside, and pointed at his friends. "Kill them! Kill them all!"

Lloyd crouched into a fighter's stance, ready to engage in battle. "You guys take care of the angels! I'll try to stop Genis!" A hand rested on Lloyd's tense shoulder and he looked back to see who it was. "Pro-professor?"

"Lloyd, let me take care of this," said Raine quietly. "I know he's your best friend, but he's my brother. It should be my responsibility to deal with him."

"But…" protested Lloyd. "Genis is really-"

"Powerful?" She shook her head. "I know, but that doesn't matter. If anyone can reach him, it's me. I'm the only family that he has left."

"Professor…" said Lloyd.

She grasped her staff with both hands and closed her eyes. "No more time for that. You have to help the others defeat the angels." Her eyes opened once more and she swung her staff from side-to-side. "I'll take care of Genis!"

"You? Ha!" sneered Genis. "I was hoping for Lloyd, Kratos, or even Presea! But you? Please! This will be too easy!" He drew his kendama and swung the ball at Raine who managed to knock it away with her staff.

"Genis, you have to be stopped!" yelled Raine.

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_The battle dragged on for nearly a half-hour. Initially, it was a stalemate but as more time passed, the angels began to lose ground and slowly fold under the might of the heroes. However, the battle between Genis and Raine was a different story. Even from the beginning, Raine was no match for the now angelic Genis. Now that she was tired and running low on mana, this proved to be even more true. Things seemed to be hopeless for Raine. She did not care so much about the fact that she might die, rather, as the battle progressed, she further realized that there really was no turning Genis back, no matter how much she pleaded with him or lectured him. _

Raine's breathed with great difficulty as she kneeled on the ground. She felt that she could not fight much longer and figured that her friends would not be done with the angels until it was too late for her. Looking up, she saw a smug look on the seemingly victorious Genis. His spectral wings fluttered as his hands glowed with power.

"This is it Raine," said Genis with confidence. "It's really too bad that you didn't join us." He brought his hands together, then slowly spread them back apart. As he did so, white lightning arced between his hands, creating an almost blinding light between them. "Goodbye Raine. Divine Indignation!"

A large arc of the same whitish-lighting that Genis held shot forth from his hands and screamed towards Raine. Calling up the last bit of her strength, she held up her staff and yelled, "Ray!" A pure-white beam of light shot forth from her staff and slammed into Genis' own magical attack. However, hers was not nearly as powerful as her brother's and, as such, was slowly getting pushed back toward Raine.

Having dispatched the last of the angels, Lloyd's group could finally pay heed to what was happening between Genis and Raine. Seeing that Raine was going to lose, he began to run towards Genis. "Stop it! Stop it right now!" he yelled.

Kratos' strong hand grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back. "No Lloyd! Let them go! She has to do this or she will never forgive herself!"

"But she's going to die!" retorted Lloyd!"

Kratos closed his eyes and shook his head. "Patience, Lloyd. Believe in them."

"_Them_?" asked Lloyd, confused. "You mean the professor _and_ Genis?"

Kratos nodded. "Genis will not kill his sister."

Lloyd threw his arms outward. "What! How can you be so sure?"

Saying nothing, Kratos turned back to the battle between the two half-elves.

"Hey! Are you listening!" asked Lloyd. Still receiving no answer, he turned back to the battle and watched with great anxiety.

"It's… it's no good!" Raine said to herself. "I can't beat him. I just didn't want to lose my brother… he's all that I have left." Tears began to run down her cheek as the great mass of arcane energy inched closer and closer to her. "I'm so sorry Genis…"

The smile that Genis once wore slowly faded as he, somehow, heard his sister crying over the noise of the magical battle. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Wha-… what am I doing? Am I really going to kill my own sister! She's been more of a mother to me than our real mom ever was! Mithos is my friend, but… this just isn't worth it. I should've stuck with my family. Not just Raine, but all my other friends as well. Lloyd and Colette have been like a big brother and sister to me. They helped Raine raise me since I was a baby. Everyone, I… I'm so sorry. I wish I could just give this up, but there's no way to break off this energy now without hurting or even killing someone else." He listened to his sister weep a bit longer before he finally decided on his course of action. "There's only one thing left to do." He dramatically reduced the output of mana from his hands and slowly lowered his arms.

Not noticing the drop in arcane power coming from Genis, Raine's Ray quickly overpowered what was left of Genis' Divine Indignation. Genis' magical energy dispersed, Raine's Ray immediately engulfed Genis, torching his very soul with holy energy.

"**_Genis!_**" yelled a horrified Lloyd as he witnessed his best friend getting slammed by the Ray. Just before Genis was fully engulfed, Lloyd could've sworn he saw Genis looking at him with an eerily calm smile. Bright light filled the room, blinding everyone who was watching.

Moments later, the tower dimmed once again and everyone could see Raine kneeling on the ground, cradling her dead brother in her arms. She leaned down and kissed him on the forehead, letting her tears splash down on his emotionless face.

Everyone lowered their heads in respect for their fallen companion and Raine's loss. They couldn't stay long though and Lloyd knew this. He began to walk toward Raine and was grabbed once again by Kratos. He turned to face his father who was shaking his head.

"No, Lloyd. Leave them be," he said. "Her role in the final battle has come and gone. We shall take care of the rest."

Lloyd wanted to protest but even he realized that his father was right. He took one last look at Raine and waved his arms towards his friends, motioning them to move along. The party vanished in the teleporter, leaving the half-elven professor to look after and mourn her little brother.

_The remainder of the party, with help from Kratos, managed to defeat not only Pronyma but Mithos as well. With no one there to spare his "soul" (Genis in the game), Lloyd had Mithos' Cruxis Crystal destroyed, thus ending any threat of Mithos coming back. The journey ends at Origin's Altar when the party not only forms a pact with Origin but also subsequently re-unites the worlds with the power of the Eternal Sword. Genis was buried in one of the deepest parts of the Torrent Forest where his grave was unlikely to be bothered by anyone. Once a year, Raine comes by his grave to lay down a wreath of Genis' favorite flowers. Afterwards, she leaves just as wordlessly as she came._

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Cue the Twilight Zone music, please…

Okay, first "What if?" is done! After each story, I'll display a list of how the real game would've been affected if these events actually took place. Without further ado…

How the game changes as a result of this what if…  
---Genis forever leaves the party at Altessa's place, just before the Flanoir scene_  
_---Zelos, as a Flanoir scene, confesses about his dealings with Cruxis and the Renegades  
---Kratos joins the party sooner than he normally does and replaces Genis as a permanent party member, rather than having to choose between Zelos or Kratos.  
---Genis _and_ The Gatekeeper are fought instead of just the Gatekeeper or Zelos  
---Colette is **_not_** re-captured by Cruxis and is never possessed by Martel  
---Genis is killed by Raine

---The game ends at the Tower of Salvation with the joining of the worlds after the pact with Origin is formed and the ring of the pact is made, rather than at Vinheim Castle. The final battle with Mithos takes place in the Great Seed Chamber and not in Vinheim.

And there we go. Okay, so how was everything? Minus A/Ns, This story was 5,000 words long, longer than any other single chapter I've written. Assuming y'all liked this one and want to see more, I would like you to please visit my profile page and look for the "What if?" listing. I would like everyone to vote on whichever "What If?" you would like to see next. Remember, you can't vote on anything you suggested. Thanks a bunch everyone!


	2. Raine could cook?

O A/N: My regular readers already know why I haven't posted in a while so I won't get into that, other than to say I'm sorry. Now that that's aside, let's talk about last chapter a bit.

Wow. Just… wow. 39 reviews for the first story. Ever thought I'd get that many. Heck, I thought I'd be lucky to get 10! Thank you so much everyone! Yes, the last chapter may have been depressing, but I think everyone agrees that that is pretty close to what would've happened in the game. I hope the rest of the stories prove to be just as enjoyable as or more so than this one was. With that, it's now time for "Respond to the Readers"!

E.S. Simeon – Wow, glad you liked it so much

Lloyd Irving Aurion – Thank you very much! I don't know how many 'ships or which 'ships I'll be using but I'll most likely put a tiny disclaimer before each chapter that details little things that some people might not like.

Serrated Darkness – Yeah, I was sure that I wasn't the first who did this. This is just my perspective on how things would've turned out.

me23 – I know, but Indignation Judgment doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, ya know? Divine Indignation does though

Kaiousai – Why would I feel bad? I thank you for the praise and the tiny bits of criticism! I had thought about doing some Genis/Mithos interaction, but I was trying to do it the way the game would've done: from the party's point of view. In the game, there isn't many times where the focus is taken away from the party to show an event elsewhere. Also, I agree that I could've done a better job on Genis. I tried to factor in his superiority complex with the fact that he was now an enemy of the party. I'm glad you enjoyed it though!

Sunnigen – Haha. I wish I could ditch Genis too. Definitely my least favorite character.

DC – See my reply to me23.

Fan Fan Girl – Haha, I love the idea that you submitted to me. To those of you who haven't seen it, she suggested "What if Regal killed Alicia with his feet instead of his hands?" That'd certainly make for a hilarious MoS.

J.G. the Master Gamer – A sad idea, but a good idea. It's possible that this could've happened in the game. I shall put it on the list.

Cotoprius – Aww, I'm sorry 

For all submitted ideas – I only responded to two ideas, but don't let that discourage y'all. I accepted more than that and have put them on the list. Others that didn't make the list or those that disappeared from the list may not be a lost cause. If you look at my profile, I have two special MoS feature presentations in the works. These combine several what if ideas together. The main focus of these two are "What if Tethe'alla was the declining world and Sylvarant was the flourishing world?" and "What if Kratos never betrayed the party at the Tower of Salvation?" These what if suggestions would require far more than just a one-shot to do them justice, so… they are now dubbed as full-length projects. Yay! As for the lost what ifs, they may have been combined into these stories, so don't sweat it if you don't see yours

Be sure to keep those reviews and suggestions rolling! Now, without further ado, I present the next story of MoS to you! (wait for the title! There's a short intro)

Warning: Please don't get onto me for any OOC-ness. This is a humor story after-all. I'll try to stay in char, but OOC will be necessary at some points… oh hell. It's mostly going to be OOC. After all, Raine's cooking does nothing to the actual story other than add humor, right? Enjoy!

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"Guys, I have some bad news," said Genis solemnly.

Lloyd and Zelos looked up from their game of cards to look at their companion. "What's wrong Genis?" asked Lloyd.

Zelos winced. "Wait, that look on your face… you don't mean…"

Genis nodded, his face full of despair and disgust. "It's Raine's turn to cook tonight."

Lloyd threw down his cards and shook his head. "I'm feeling very ill all of a sudden."

"The worst part is that we have to eat it," said Zelos grimly. "We'll need the energy."

Lloyd sighed hopelessly. "So what's on the menu for tonight?"

"Miso Stew," replied Genis. "It's pretty hard to screw that up, but knowing Raine-"

"Boys! Soup's on!" yelled Raine cheerfully as she poured the stew from the small cauldron into the bowls of her companions."

Lloyd stood up and shook his head. "This sucks. How come the others got to go on a side-quest and we didn't?"

Zelos brushed past him and made his way toward Raine and the stew. "Cuz we drew the short straws."

"Bah." Losing all hope of somehow getting out of what Raine called "dinner", Lloyd, with Genis, made his way toward Raine and their fear-struck friend, Zelos.

Raine tapped her serving spoon on the side of the cauldron and smiled. "Bring your bowls over here boys. It's time for some good food!"

Genis shook his head as he brought over his bowl. "Raine, are you sure about that?"

She shrugged and filled his bowl full of stew. "Well, I'm bound to get it right sooner or later, right? Trial and error never hurt."

As Lloyd brought his bowl over, he muttered, "I dunno about that. It hurts _us_."

"I heard that. Now be quiet and go eat your soup."

Lloyd grumbled and sat down next to Genis. Forcing the biggest smile that he could, Zelos said through his clenched teeth. "Wow, my gorgeous professor! This sure looks good!"

Raine sighed and filled his bowl as well. "Alright, I'm sure it's horrible. Just please sit down and eat it." She pulled another bowl for herself and filled it as well. She sat down and looked down at her stew. "Bah, what's the use! Why do I even try anymore? I'm forever doomed to be a-"

"Holy cow!" yelled Lloyd. "Professor, this is the best Miso stew I've ever had!"

She sighed again. "It's okay Lloyd. You don't have to act like you like it."

"No professor, I'm being serious! This is _really_ good! It's even better than Genis'!"

She glanced over at him, a puzzled look on her face. "What?"

"That's impossible!" cried Genis. "I love my sister to death but there's no way that this tastes and it's especially not better than mine!"

"Whoa!" said Zelos. "Genis, he ain't lyin'! This _is_ better than yours!"

Genis grunted. "Are you both insane? I'll try it myself and we'll see!"

Raine watched as Genis took a spoonful of the stew and ate it. She quickly glanced over at Zelos and Lloyd, waiting for them to start laughing at Genis for falling for their trick. Their faces, however, remained struck in wonder as they watched Genis down his spoonful of stew.

As soon as Genis tasted it, he let his spoon drop, hit the edge of the bowl, and flop onto the ground. "G-guys…"

"Yes!" said everyone in unison as they leaned toward Genis.

"…this is the single greatest thing I've ever eaten," said Genis. He looked over at his sister. "Who are you and what have you done with my sister?"

Now infinitely curious about her own cooking, she took a small bite of it. She looked up at her friends, a look of massive disbelief on her face.

"Oh my goddess… what have I done?"

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(cue goofy theme music!)

**Mysteries of Symphonia Presents: "What if Raine knew how to cook?"**

Starring: Genis as the Narrator (italics), Raine as the unlikely master chef, and their other dumbfounded companions as… err… the dumbfounded companions!

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_My sister? A chef? It sounded more like a part of one Zelos' bad jokes than a true statement. For as long as I can remember, Raine has been an absolutely terrible cook. It was okay up until I turned two years old… y'know, when one really starts to develop taste buds? Anyway, the examples I can present you concerning Raine's terrible cooking are numerable and all are very unique. My earliest memory of her bad cooking (that I can remember) traces back to when I was about five years old…_

"Genis!" yelled Raine. "Breakfast is ready!"

The spunky half-elf immediately dropped the small book he was reading, ran over to the kitchen table, and hopped up into his chair. He grabbed the spoon next to his bowl and prepared to dig in when he noticed something strange about his food.

"Raine?" he asked.

His sister smiled back sweetly at him. "What is it Genis?"

"Why is there water in my cereal?"

"Well now that's a silly question. To make the cereal wet! Cereal just isn't the same otherwise!"

He blinked. "Sis, you're supposed to put _milk_ in cereal. Not water."

"Milk?"

"Milk."

"…are you sure Genis?"

"Positive."

"…I see. I'll be sure to remember that for next time. For now, eat your cereal how it is."

"Blah!"

_Pretty bad, huh? Sadly, that's not even the beginning of her tales of bad cooking. Not only were some of her dishes just plain bad tasting, some were just plain… well, for lack of a better word, dumb._

Genis stared at the slices of sliced bread on his plate with disgust. It's not that this didn't look good, rather, there was something truly offensive about it. He felt lucky that those that had invented the dish weren't around to see Raine's total lack of respect for it, otherwise…

"Raine?"

"Yes Genis?"

"I like bread and everything, but isn't the whole point of making a sandwich putting something in-between the two pieces of bread."

"But the recipe only called for two pieces of bread."

"Yeah Raine, those are just the base ingredients. If you read beyond the part about base ingredients, you'll notice that it says you can put anything you like in-between the two pieces of bread… within reason. It's pretty hard to make a bad sandwich"

"Really? Hmm…" Raine turned around and began to rummage through the fridge. "Ah-ha!" She plucked two things from the fridge and set them on the counter. She took Genis' plate with the bread on it and, after a few moments, placed the plate back in front of him. "There you go Genis!"

"I think something is hanging out of my sandwich… what exactly did you put on it?"

"Well, you said it's pretty hard to mess up a sandwich, right? Well, I thought I'd go with what I think is a pretty unique combination."

"That being?"

"It's a baking chocolate and squid sandwich! Enjoy!"

"Blarf!"

_One of my "favorite" failed cooking experiments took place when Raine tackled cereal once again…_

Raine hummed happily as she poured out a bowl of Cruxis Flakes for her little brother. She then went for the milk and as she poured it over the cereal, the bowl of tasty, sugary flakes caught on fire. The adding of more milk only caused the fire to strengthen, much to Raine's horror.

"Ah! Ah! Fire!"

_Sure, my breakfast may have been ruined, but I have to admit that it was pretty amazing to watch cereal catch on fire while the milk is being poured over it. Sadly, the end product, "Cereal Flambe", wasn't very good. Another thing I always found peculiar about my sister's cooking was her love for lemons. No matter what she was making, she would always add lemon to it. Nothing was safe from her infatuation with lemons: hamburgers, spaghetti, cream stew, baking chocolate and squid sandwich (talk about making a bad thing worse!), even simple glasses of milk! Bleh!_

Anyway, I think you've got an idea of how bad of a cook my sister is… or rather, "was". We're not sure how it happened, but on that fateful night when Lloyd, Zelos, and myself were forced to try her Miso stew or face starvation, my sister finally understood how to cook. It was a miracle! Was this just a one-time thing, or could I finally take a break from cooking all the time? The next few times that she cooked, her dishes were equally as splendid! I never thought I'd say this, but, one night, she made these lemon milkshakes that were to absolutely die for! Time passed, quests were completed, and plots were twisted. Finally, we came to the point in our journey that everyone had been waiting for…

"Okay guys!" said Genis. "Time to check our to-do list so we can make sure that we did _everything_ we were supposed to do. Ahem… beat the crap outta Pronyma and Mithos?"

"Check!" said Lloyd.

"Got Origin?"

"Check!" said Sheena.

"Got the Material Blades and Ring of the Pact?"

"Check!" said Lloyd again.

"Rescued Sheena from the clutches of Mithos' possession?"

Hearts appeared in Sheena's eyes as she clung on to Lloyd's arm, her cheek against his. "Check…" she said, dreamily.

"Beat the crap outta the overly big and overly pathetic Dark Dragon?"

Zelos snickered. "Hehe, check."

"Solved the stupid puzzle in Vinheim to get back down to the surface?"

Raine smacked her brother in the back of the head. "Stupid puzzle? How can you call a puzzle of the ancients "stupid"?"

Genis rubbed his head. "Check. That means that all we have to do now is beat up Mithos one last time. Okay guys, you know what this means, right?"

Lloyd nodded. "Sure do. Ready?"

Everyone threw up their arms at once and yelled, "Side-quest time!"

_Oh yeah! Side-quests are so much fun! It's the moment we had all been waiting for. Now was the time that we finally started getting decent equipment and going on the more interesting quests, not to mention go up against monsters that make Mithos look even more pathetic than that stupid Dark Dragon (Hehe… pansy…). We treated the list of side-quests as if it was a theme park There was so much to do that we didn't know where to start…_

"How about the Battle Arena in Meltokio?" asked Lloyd.

"Llooooyyyyydddd, can we go get Maxwell?" asked Sheena lovingly.

"No way!" said Genis. "I wanna go get the cool Meteor Swarm spell! I gotta slap around that punk elven wizard kid too!"

"Can we… take out Abyssion first?" asked Presea. "I'm… tired of these damn Devil Arms talking to me."

"Hmm? What's this?" asked Zelos as he yanked away the list. "A cooking competition in Meltokio? Hey guys! This gives me a great idea!"

"That's a first," said Genis as he rolled his eyes.

"Shut up brat. We should enter Raine in the competition!"

Everyone's attention became fully focused on Zelos when he said this. It actually didn't seem like that bad of an idea but there were still many things to consider.

"Y-you want me to enter a cooking competition?" asked Raine.

"Are you sure about this Zelos?" asked Genis.

Regal nodded. "Yes Zelos. I mean no offense to Raine, but what if the fine results of her most recent dishes were nothing more than freak accidents?"

"Yeah," chimed in Lloyd. "It could be like when Colette trips and breaks something that was actually meant to be broken."

Not fully knowing what was going on, Colette decided to take preemptive action by saying, "I'm sorry."

Zelos shook his head. "Tsk tsk, all of you should be ashamed of yourselves. You should have more confidence in the professor."

"But Zelos…" started Presea, "Aren't you the one that said that Raine's cooking made you bulimic?"

"That's not important, now hush my little rosebud." He turned back to Raine and smiled. "I'm sure you can do it my ultra-cool gorgeous beauty!"

Raine closed her eyes and thought. A moment later, she opened her eyes and nodded. "All right, I'll do it. What will the rest of you be doing in the meantime?"

"Heh, I've decided, without everyone else's consent, that we're all going to enter the cooking competition. That way, we can run the tables and make sure that one of us will get the grand prize!"

"That's very clever Zelos," commented Regal. "Dishonest, but clever all the same."

"Oh yeah! I was born to be dishonest!"

"What?"

"Nothing. Let's go! On to Meltokio!"

_And off we went. Meltokio was bustling as everyone ran around in an attempt to get everything ready for the competition. Considering how little time there was before the contest started, you would've thought that we had absolutely amazing luck in getting here just in time. However, our luck wasn't a factor in our timing. In fact, we could've waited as long as we wanted and still be just in time, thanks to the "Law of Side-quests!" Ahem, anyway, I'm getting off-subject. Zelos registered all of us (against our will, if you remember) for the contest and we went to our cooking stations. As it turned out, we couldn't exactly run the tables yet, as there was one other chef that entered the contest: the Wonder Chef's arch-nemesis, the Dark Chef! Although we still had a very good chance of one of us winning the grand prize, Zelos wasn't about to take any risks on his plan being ruined…_

"Hey Regal?" said Zelos from his cooking station.

Not looking up from his own work, Regal replied, "Yes?"

"My plan's in danger of being ruined."

"What? By the Dark Chef?"

"Yup."

"You realize that that we outnumber him eight to one, right? One of us is bound to beat him. Besides, the Wonder Chef is biased and would never pick his rival to win."

"Even so, I'm not taking any chances."__"Very well. What are you going to do then?"

"I want you to take out the Dark Chef."

"Take him out? Isn't that a little much?"

Zelos pounded his fist on his table. "Damnit man! I want my prize! I shall not be denied!"

Regal sighed and shook his head. "Fine. At least draw the Wonder Chef's attention away while I do this."

"Gotcha." Regal began to slip away as Zelos waved his arms in the air and yelled. "Wonder Chef! Wonder Chef! I, uh… spilled salt on the table! Isn't that bad luck?"

Regal watched as the Wonder Chef moved to speak with Zelos about the importance of not spilling salt on the table. "Good. Here I go…"

He snuck behind the rows of tables that belonged to his companions as they too gawked and wondered what the hell their idiot Chosen was doing. Upon reaching the Dark Chef's table, Regal stood to his full height and tapped DC on the shoulder.

He turned around. "Bah! What do you want, foolish chef?"

"You dropped your spoon."

"What?" He looked down. "I don't see any-"

**_BONK!_**

The Dark Chef hit the ground after Regal slammed the back of DC's head with his elbow, sending him to the ground.

Zelos pointed over to the Dark Chef's table. "Oh no! I think the Dark Chef passed out! Is he okay Regal?"

"Huh?" said the Wonder Chef as he ran over to DC's table. "What happened here?"

Regal closed his eyes and nodded his head. "His kung-fu was weak."

"Indeed…" said the Wonder Chef quietly. He looked from side-to-side and slipped Regal a wad of money.

He too looked both ways and took the money. "Sweet."

Zelos witnessed the exchange of money and shook his head. "Aww man, what a gyp. If I woulda known that there was money involved…"

_And so, our competition was eliminated before the contest had even begun. Finally, everyone began to prepare their dishes. An hour passed, then two, then… oh what the hell. A bunch of time passed, okay? I think you get the point. Anyway, the time finally came for our dishes to be judged. First came Lloyd…_

"I say Mister Irving, your Dwarven Stew is absolutely marvelous!" said the Wonder Chef.

"Hehe, thanks!" said Lloyd. "The trick is to put just the right amount of iron ore in it!"

WC dropped his spoon and his jaw.

_Next came Presea…_

"Hmm, very interesting Miss Combatir. Is this soul food?" asked WC.

"No sir," she replied. "It's soul-less food."

"…"

_Then Zelos…_

"Mr. Wilder, I'm sorry, but I can't accept your dish."

"Why not? Doesn't it taste good?"

"Well, yes… but Mr. Wilder, while your "Erotic Cake" may taste good, it's not in good taste."

"Hmph. Well you're no fun."

_Then Regal…_

"Hot water?"

"Yes."

"That's your submission?"

"Yes. It's good for the soul and good for you."

"…"

_Then I was up next…_

"What the hell!"

"Is something wrong sir?"

"Your flaming chicken surprise… when I cut into it, a flame shot out at me!"

"Well, yes sir. It's called 'flaming chicken surprise' for a reason. How does it taste?"

"I wish I could tell you, but now I have third degree burns on my tongue. Taste buds are gone, you know?"

_A quick healing spell from Raine and off we went to Colette…_

"This is fabulous Miss Brunell! Your 'Happy Face Cake' is absolutely superb!" cried the Wonder Chef.

She bowed her head. "I'm sorry!"

_Then Sheena…_

The Wonder Chef blinked as he looked at Sheena. "Miss Fujibayashi?"

"Yes?" she replied.

"You can't use the summon spirits to create your dish. You are disqualified."

"H-how did you know?"

He pointed behind her. She looked where he pointed and frowned. "Oh yeah, I forgot to un-summon Origin."

"D'oh," said Origin, disappointed.

_And finally, we came to Raine…_

"Spicy Cake, you say?" asked the Wonder Chef.

She nodded. "Mmm," she hummed, obviously worried.

He laughed. "Well now, this is certainly interesting. Over the course of history, nobody has ever made a legitimately tasty Spicy Cake. Even I have been searching for the perfect recipe for it for years. However, I have met with no success and, as such, my Spicy Cake is absolutely horrendous. Win or lose, I admire your effort. Now then, may I have a taste?"

She swallowed a lump in her throat. "S-sure. I hope you enjoy it."

He smiled, cut off a piece of cake with his fork, and put the piece of questionable cake in his mouth. He chewed it thoughtfully and as he did so, he began to shed tears. However, these were not tears of sorrow or pain. Rather, they were tears of pure joy.

"M-miss Sage…"

"Yes?"

He shook his head wildly and took off his hat. He spun around once and then placed the hat upon the healer's head. "I am the Wonder Chef no more!"

Everyone looked at him and yelled, "What!"

He nodded and turned to the others. "My friends, it is just as I said! I no longer deserve to be called the Wonder Chef! The recipe for Spicy Cake has been perfected!"

Raine blinked unbelievably. "W-what?"

He turned back to her and smiled. "Miss Sage, your cake is the incarnation of perfection. Never before have I tasted something so wonderful! Congratulations!" He turned back to the others and proudly proclaimed, "From this day forward, Raine Sage shall now be known as the new Wonder Chef!"

Everyone clapped and cheered wildly. He turned back to Raine once again and kneeled before her. He offered up his giant fork as if it was a sword. "Please, take it. I am no longer worthy of bearing the Wonder Fork. Just remember one thing Wonder Chef."

"Y-yes sir?" said Raine.

"The Dark Chef sucks."

"Blargh, I heard that!" said an obviously disoriented Dark Chef. Regal promptly ran over, stomped on him a few times, and flashed a thumbs-up to Raine.

She nodded to Regal and then to the chef formerly known as Wonder. "Yes sir. I will never forget your words of wisdom." She took the fork and held it the same way that she held her staff. "Has a nice feel to it."

"Excellent. With the Wonder Fork will allow you to take any form you wish. You must only use this to hide yourselves from those who aren't true chefs. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir!" she said with a salute.

"Good." He stood up, took off his apron and handed it to Raine. "Good luck, Wonder Chef. I'm off to begin a new life!"

He nodded and ran over to where the Dark Chef was lying. He leaned down, took his wallet and hat and began to walk away. Before he left, he stomped him two more times and then walked into a nearby liquor store. He came out with a suspicious looking bottle wrapped in a brown bag and sat on the sidewalk. As he drank from the bottle, he held out the Dark Chef's hat and started asking people for any spare change they might have.

Colette smiled and giggled. "Hehe. It feels nice to watch people get off to a good start when starting a new life."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Raine wrapped the apron of the chef formerly known as Wonder around her and picked the Wonder Fork back up. She gazed at it and was slowly overcome by sadness. As if the fork was talking to her (…was it?), she finally began to realize her new mission in life… and she knew she had to leave.

"Guys?" she asked everyone at once.

"Hmm? What is it professor?" they all asked at the same time.

She sighed deeply and shook her head. "I'm… afraid that I must leave you."

Silence.

"…I must partake in my new mission in life."

Silence.

"…aren't you going to try and stop me?" she screamed. "Aren't you going to miss me?"

Lloyd shrugged. "Eh. We'll miss you, but we'll manage. Besides, Zelos can heal us and Regal and Genis can cook."

Colette giggled. "You said you have a new mission in life, right? If you need inspiration, you should look at the old Wonder Chef! He's on the right track!"

Raine glanced over at the chef formerly known as Wonder. He swung around his suspicious looking bottle as he launched very random and very drunkenly spoken insults at the civilians passing by him. "Hey bud- hic! -dy! Your mother's a… hic! … woman! Gahaha…" he exclaimed just before he tipped over and took a nap on the sidewalk.

Raine blinked. "Colette, honey, that's not a very good example."

"Regardless, we must be on our way," said Lloyd. He turned around and walked away. "See ya later Professor! Good luck! I think we will meet again someday!"

"Of course we will!" cried Raine. "We live in the same damn village."

"Even better!" said Lloyd happily as he walked away.

The others followed suit, waving to Raine as they left behind.

The last to leave Raine was Zelos. "This is an outrage! Where's our cash and prizes!" He glanced over at the fallen Dark Chef. "Well… I just might get my cash yet." He ran over to the fallen chef and checked his pockets. "Hot damn!" He held something towards the sky. "He had another wallet on him! Spiffy!" Eyes shining, he stepped on the Dark Chef as he rejoined his companions.

Raine sighed. "So much for heart-felt goodbyes." She looked down at the Wonder Fork, contemplating her new path in life. "I didn't want this but it seems I have no choice. After, I have been entrusted with this seemingly sacred duty by a most noble man."

She glanced over at the chef formerly known as Wonder. He was still asleep but he was swinging around his suspicious looking bottle around as he sang groggily. "Ninety-nine bags of flour on the wall, ninety-nine bags of flour… hic! …"

She shook her head. "What have I gotten myself into?"

_And so we all went our separate ways. We continued our journey to complete all of the side-quests the worlds of Tethe'alla and Sylvarant had to offer while Raine wondered the world as the new Wonder Chef, imparting her mystic knowledge of culinary arts upon the masses as she did so. Words of her exploits spread far and wide and, no matter where we went, traces of Raine's cooking could be found everywhere. Bottles of lemon juice were now a part of every dining table set in every single restaurant and the infamous baking chocolate and squid sandwich was now a smashing hit. Slices of her time and space defying Spicy Cake often sold for more than ten thousand gald at auctions all over the two worlds. After so much success, you would think that this is the end of my story… but I still have yet to tell you about the times we've met up with her once again during our travels. As you know, the Wonder Chef is meant to impart his/her divine cooking upon the masses in order to spread smiles all over the world(s). Also, he/she uses disguises to hide from those who desire to learn from him/her. If the chef in question can spot the Wonder Chef, then he/she must impart of their special recipes upon the one who found them. That being said, how did Raine fare when it came to her disguises? Well…_

"Hey look everybody!" cried Colette. "It's a 'Vegans Anonymous meeting place!"

"Vegans? Bleh!" said Lloyd disgustedly. He then pounded his chest and said, "Lloyd want meat!"

Several screams were heard from within the building. Everyone's ears immediately perked up.

"What… was that?" asked Presea.

Lloyd drew his swords and ran inside. "No time for questions! There must be bad-guys inside!" Everyone quickly followed him inside.

Once in, they saw that all those in attendance of the meeting were cringing against the walls. Looking around, Lloyd finally saw what the cause of the commotion was. On the table in the middle of the room was a piece of fried chicken.

"Sweet!" cried Lloyd as he dashed for the chicken. Just before he could touch it though, it turned into a puff of smoke. "Cough noise! Cough noise! What the heck!"

The smoke cleared and on the table stood Raine, the Wonder Chef. She did some sort of goofy dance and held her fork up proudly. "Well done Lloyd! You found me!"

A nervous bead of sweat rolled down Lloyd's face. "Say what?"

She nodded. "You saw through my disguise, so now I have to give you a recipe."

"But I wasn't even trying."

"What?"

"Yeah. I was just hungry and I happened to see a piece of fried chicken."

Zelos nodded. "That, and disguising yourself as a piece of chicken at a Vegans Anonymous meeting is very smart."

Raine sighed. "Regardless, you found me. I'll just have to try harder next time." She straightened herself up and nodded. "Now then, I shall grant upon you the recipe of- hey, where are you going?"

"To the local DFC (Dwarven Fried Chicken!)," replied Lloyd. "I'm craving chicken now. Better luck next time professor."

Everyone followed Lloyd out the door as Raine grumbled to herself. One of the vegans tugged on her pants, grabbing her attention.

"Umm, excuse me ma'am, but could you get off of our table?"

_So Raine's first disguise didn't go over so well. This wouldn't be the end of her failed disguises though…_

"Wow!" squealed Colette as she stared at the buffet line. "I didn't know that they served tacos in Mizuho-style restaurants!"

Sheena rolled her eyes. "They don't. Come on out Professor."

Another puff of smoke and out came Raine. "Ta-da! Well done!"

"Not really. Again, really terrible disguise."

Raine sighed again. "Well darn it."

_It didn't end there either…_

Zelos shook his head with disgust as he stood in the white-hot sands of the desert. "Come on out professor. We know it's you."

"How did you know?" asked the un-melting block of ice.

_This next one certainly isn't the last time, but after this one, I'm sure you'll get the idea._

"Hello!" said a familiar man in a chef's outfit. "I am the Wonder Chef!"

If Regal could've slapped his own head without bashing it with metal, he would've. "Damnit Raine, you're not even trying now! We all know that a woman is the Wonder Chef now."

Another puff of smoke. "Gah! What am I doing wrong!" cried Raine.

_…you get the idea. Anyway, with all of the side-quests done and over with, we had little else to do other than finally go to Vinheim to beat-down Mithos. It was there that we met Raine once again._

"This sucks," complained Raine as she wandered aimlessly around, not noticing the corpse of the Dark Dragon (what a wuss!) as she did so. "I just can't do anything right. Sure, I can cook like the old Wonder Chef but I just can't make a successful disguise. Is there any hope for me?"

Just as aimlessly as before, she walked through the gates to Mithos' space and looked up. On a small piece of land far in front of and above her, she could see that a fierce battle was going on. "Huh… they must be fighting Mithos. I was going to hide disguise myself here, but since they're already here…" An idea came to her. "I know! I can still help my friends! Here I come!"

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"Well now, pathetic heroes," said Mithos. "Will you give up now?"

"Mithos…" said a female's voice from behind him.

Everyone turned to the owned of the voice: a very familiar-looking young woman with green hair. Their jaws dropped when they realized who it was.

"M-Martel! Is that you!" cried Mithos. He walked over to her, his arms extended. "Have you really come back to me?"

She smiled and extended her arms. "Yes Mithos. Come to me so that I can hug you."

He did as he was told but when he was less than two feet away from her, a puff of smoked emerged from her and before the smoke could clear, a very large fork came through it and jabbed Mithos in the gut.

"Gah! I have been slain!" cried the forked Mithos as he fell over dead.

The smoke finally cleared and the heroes watched as Raine did her little Wonder dance. "Oh yeah! How didja like that disguise!"

"That was sick Raine!" cried Genis.

Regal lowered his head. "Honestly Raine, that was intensely cruel."

Zelos shook his head in disgust. "Sure, he was a very bad guy and all, but not even he deserved to be someone he thought was his sister."

The heroes waved their hands in a "go away" fashion and left Mithos' space through the teleporter. Raine stomped her feet and yelled, "Argh! Why can't I win! I just saved the world and I'm still rejected!" She walked over to Mithos' fallen body and tried to pry her fork from his corpse. "Hey… I think it's stuck…"

_It was quite a while before we finally forgave Raine. Sure, what she did was wrong, but she did save us and the world after-all. After the battle, we all went home to do our own things and continue on with our lives. Raine, however, continued to wander the world, righting the wrongs of the wicked and cooking up good food all the while. All-in-all, a truly happy ending… except for Mithos and the Dark Chef, of course. As for the chef formerly known as Wonder?_

The chef formerly known as Wonder stood on one of the cold, lonely corners of Meltokio with a sign strapped to him that said, "Will cook for food." He thought about his days as the Wonder Chef and smiled. "Ahh… I'm glad that crap is over. Now I finally have a legitimate job!"

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Cue the Twilight Zone music please…

How the game changes as a result of this "What if…?"  
--Nothing really. Raine's cooking is merely a bit of comedy relief in ToS. This story is a completely bs result of what would happen if Raine actually could cook. I hope you enjoyed it all the same though

Okay, this story was a little over 5,000 words long as well! Did everyone like it? I sure hope so! Remember to look on my profile to see which MoS story to vote on next week! Also, please check my profile within the next few days for a special announcement I'll have concerning my writing! When it's up, it should be up near the top, so you shouldn't have to look hard. Thanks in advance for checking out the profile and many more thanks for taking the time to read and reviews this!


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